Suspended Exercise Device

ABSTRACT

A suspended exercise device comprising an inelastic elongated member that passes through and is supported by a pulley with stoppers on the inelastic elongated member where the placement of the stoppers on the inelastic elongated member determines how much, if any, of the elongated member can pass through the pulley.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/628,327, filed Jan. 17, 2018, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention resides in an exercise device of the kind in which an inelastic elongated member (such as a rope, strap material or combination rope and strap material) with attached grips is suspended by an anchor from an elevated support structure.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention resides in an exercise device comprising an inelastic elongated member to which are attached grips, and an anchor that attaches and supports the inelastic elongated member to a structure. The invention exists in several embodiments which have in common: an anchor that includes a pulley; an inelastic elongated member that is supported by the pulley; grips attached to the elongated member on either side of the pulley; and stoppers that limit the length of the elongated member that can move through the pulley. In one embodiment, one arm of the elongated member depends from one side of the pulley, another arm of the elongated member depends from the other side of the pulley, and stoppers attached to the elongated member on either side of the pulley limit the portion of the elongated member that can move through the pulley.

In one embodiment, the inelastic elongated member has a generally circular cross-section such as a rope or cable (the term “rope” as used herein, including in the claims, is to be understood to include “cable”). The pulley/rope/stoppers combination limits the length of rope that can move through the pulley in response to a user applying a force on one or both of the grips.

In the most stable configuration, the stoppers are located on the rope tight against the pulley so that no amount of rope is able to move through the pulley in response to a user applying a force on one or both of the grips. In other configurations, an instability is created by positioning the stoppers on the rope at a distance from one another that allow some length of rope between the stoppers to move through the pulley in response to a user applying a force on one or both of the grips. The greater the length of rope between the stoppers, the greater the instability (the greater the possible mismatch in the length of rope on either side of the pulley).

By adjusting the location of the stoppers so that there is a substantial amount of rope therebetween, asymmetric exercises are possible where a user's arms, for example, work against one another, offering a variety of possible exercises not possible with similar prior art devices.

In one embodiment, the elongated member is comprised entirely of rope; in another embodiment, the elongated member is comprised entirely of inelastic, flat strap material; and in another embodiment, the elongated member is comprised of a combination of rope and inelastic, flat strap material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a schematic illustration of one embodiment of the invention in which the elongated member is entirely of rope and stoppers are secured equidistant from a pulley;

FIG. 1B is the same embodiment as FIG. 1A showing one stopper pulled against the pulley, preventing further movement of the rope through the pulley;

FIG. 1C is the same embodiment as FIG. 1A showing both stoppers positioned at the pulley, preventing any movement of the rope through the pulley;

FIG. 1D is the same embodiment as FIG. 1A in which the stoppers are positioned far apart to allow asymmetric exercises;

FIG. 2 is an isometric detail illustration of the essential components of a pulley and operatively associated inelastic elongated member and stoppers;

FIG. 3A is an isometric illustration of a commercially available cam buckle as one embodiment of a stopper along with a brake operatively disposed on the inelastic elongated member relative to a pulley;

FIG. 3B is an isometric illustration of the cam buckle of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 4A is an isometric illustration of one embodiment of a stopper and associated brake member in relation to an inelastic elongated member;

FIG. 4B is a cross-section view of the stopper and brake of FIG. 4A operatively mounted on a section of rope with the brake wedged over the stopper to lock it in place;

FIG. 5A is a line drawing of an embodiment of the exercise device of the invention in which the elongated member is a combination of rope and inelastic flat strap material with fixed position stoppers;

FIG. 5B is a line drawing of the same embodiment as FIG. 5A with the addition of a positional stopper;

FIG. 6A is an illustration of a combined rope element and an inelastic strap element of one embodiment of the invention sewn together;

FIG. 6B is the same as FIG. 6A with the addition of a crimp surrounding the sewn intersection of the rope and strap elements;

FIG. 6C is the same as FIG. 6B with the addition of a stopper disposed over the crimp;

FIG. 7A is a line drawing of an embodiment of the invention in which the inelastic elongated member is comprised entirely of inelastic flat strap material;

FIG. 7B is an isometric detail view of an embodiment of the invention in which a pulley supports the inelastic flat strap of FIG. 7A together with stoppers;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, an exercise device 11 comprises an anchor 12 which includes a pulley 13, an anchor strap 12 a for attaching the pulley 13 to an overhead support (not shown), an inelastic elongated member 14 and grips 16 a and 16 b attached to the inelastic elongated member 14. Inelastic elongated member 14 passes through and is supported by pulley 13 with one arm 14 a of inelastic elongated member 14 depending from one side of pulley 13 and another arm 14 b depending from the other side of the pulley 13. Attached to arm 14 a is a user grip 16 a, and to arm 14 b, a user grip 16 b. Attached at the ends of arms 14 a and 14 b is a stopper 17 a and 17 b, respectively.

When either or both of stoppers 17 a and 17 b are located on elongated member 14 at a distance from the pulley 13 (as shown), a portion 14 c of elongated member 14 can move through the pulley 13 between stoppers 17 a and 17 b before one of the stoppers engages the pulley 13 (FIG. 1B), at which point, further movement of rope 14 c through pulley 13 is arrested. It is a mismatch of user force on the grips 16 a and 16 b that produces movement of the elongated member portion 14 c through the pulley 13 until the user uses force to correct the mismatch or a stopper 17 a or 17 b engages the pulley 13. This configuration of the device 11 is considered “unstable” in that a mismatch of user force on grips 16 a and 16 b will have to be compensated for by muscle activity of the user to keep the grips 16 a and 16 b at the same distance from the pulley 13 and the stoppers 17 a and 17 b at a distance from the pulley.

Stoppers 17 a and 17 b are securable along their respective arms 14 a and 14 b of the elongated member 14 to desired locations, at which location they are firmly secured to the elongated member 14.

When a force is applied to grip 16 a or 16 b, the elongated member 14 will move freely through the pulley 13 until a user alters the forces on the grips or one of stoppers 17 a or 17 b engages the pulley 13.

Referring to FIG. 1D, by locating the stoppers 17 a and 17 b at a substantial distance from the pulley 13, the length 14 c of elongated member 14 between the stoppers 17 a and 17 b allows a user to perform isometric exercises where a user's arms, for example, work against one another offering a variety of possible exercises not possible with similar prior art devices. which permit very limited movement.

Referring to FIG. 2, the pulley 13 comprises a housing 41 having spaced-apart walls 42 and 43 that are joined at the top 44 and including an opening 45 for connection by a carabiner 46 or the like. Disposed within the housing 41 is a pulley wheel 47 supported by, and free to rotate about, an axle 48 as is typical of pulleys. The space 51 between walls 42 and 43 (except at the top 44) is dimensioned to allow a wheel 47 to rotate freely and to receive the section 14 c of rope 14 between stoppers 17 a and 17 b.

Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, in one embodiment, the stopper 17 a (which can be the same as stopper 17 b) comprises a gripping member 31 that surrounds and slides easily along the rope 14, along with an operatively associated brake member 34. The gripping member 31 has a generally conical exterior surface 32 with a generally cylindrical central bore 33 that, when unacted on, enables the gripping member 31 to move easily along the rope 14 to a desired location. Once at the desired location, the brake 34 is wedged over the exterior surface 32 of gripping member 31. The brake 34 has a conical shaped central bore 36 which is tapered at an angle such that when brake member 34 is wedged over the gripper outer surface 32, the conical section 31 is squeezed against the rope 14, securing the stopper 17 a to the rope 14. The outer diameter of the brake member 34 is greater than the pulley opening such that the rope 14 will be prevented from further movement through the pulley 13 when the brake member 34 engages the pulley 13.

Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, in one embodiment, the stoppers 17 a and 17 b comprise a commercially available cam buckle 61 (e.g. Petzl® ascender or the like) and an operatively disposed brake 62. The cam buckle 61 can be easily removed from the rope 14 and remounted at a desired location on the rope or simply slid along the rope 14 along with brake 62 to a desired location. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the brake 62 can have a shape other than a toroid so long as the dimensions and shape of the brake prevent it from entering the pulley 13.

While two possible embodiments of a stopper have been described, it will occur to those skilled in the art that any mechanism that can be moved along the rope and be locked onto the rope at a desired position and has an operatively disposed brake element that stops movement of the rope when it engages the pulley will satisfy the functional requirements of the invention.

Referring to FIG. 5A and 5B, in another embodiment of exercise device 11, the elongated member 14 is comprised of a section of rope 51 with an inelastic flat strap 52 a secured at one end of rope 51 and an inelastic flat strap 52 b secured at the other end of rope 51, with grips 16 a and 16 b attached, respectively, to straps 52 a and 52 b by cam buckles 53 a and 53 b, respectively. A stopper 54 a is secured at the juncture of strap 52 a and rope 51, and a stopper 54 b is secured at the juncture of rope 51 and strap 52 b. In this embodiment, the stoppers are fixed in their positions such that rope 51 is able to pass through pulley 13 between stoppers 54 a and 54 b. In this embodiment, the exercise device is always in an “unstable” mode.

Referring to FIG. 5B, the embodiment of FIG. 5A is augmented by the addition of a positional stopper 62, such as those previously described (FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C, 4A and 4B), having a brake member 63. This embodiment is capable of a stable mode by pulling down on grip 16 b until the stopper 54 a engages the pulley 13 and then position stopper 62 such that brake 63 engages the pulley 13. The degree of instability can be adjusted by varying the length of rope 51 between permanent positioned stopper 54 a and positional stopper 62.

Referring to FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C, in one embodiment, the rope 51 and strap 52 a, for example, are secured together first by applying stitches 57 and then by surrounding the end of the rope 51 and the end of strap 52 a, where they are stitched together, with a crimp 59. The stopper 54 a is slid over the crimp. The rope 51 is similarly attached to strap 52 b including a stopper 54 b.

Referring to FIGS. 7A and 7B, in yet another embodiment, the exercise device 11 comprises an inelastic elongated member 71 comprised entirely of an inelastic flat strap material to which are attached movable stoppers 72 and 73. Grips 16 a and 16 b are attached to the inelastic elongated member 71 by cam buckles 74 a and 74 b, respectively, in a manner well known in the art.

All of the configurations of stoppers and brakes described above in connection with embodiments including an inelastic elongated member utilizing rope, apply equally with the embodiment where the inelastic elongated member is a flat strap material. The stoppers 72 and 73 can be commercially available strap cam buckles that move along the strap 71 to a desired location and then secured at that location or equivalent devices that provide the same function.

Although the invention is described herein with reference to the preferred embodiment, one skilled in the art may readily appreciate that other applications may be substituted for those set forth herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the invention should only be limited by the claims included below. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An exercise device comprising: an inelastic elongated member having grips; a pulley support for the inelastic elongated member; a first arm of the inelastic elongated member that extends from one side of the pulley; a second arm of the inelastic elongated member that extends from the other side of the pulley; a first stopper attached to the first arm of the inelastic elongated member; and a second stopper attached to the second arm of the inelastic elongated member at a distance along the inelastic elongated member from the first stopper.
 2. The exercise device of claim 1 wherein the distance along the inelastic elongated member between the first and second stoppers is great enough whereby some of the inelastic elongated member between the stoppers can move through the pulley.
 3. The exercise device of claim 1 wherein the first and second stoppers are positioned to prevents any of the inelastic elongated member between the stoppers from moving through the pulley.
 4. The exercise device of claim 1 wherein at least one of the first and second stoppers is securable at various locations along the arm to which it is attached.
 5. The exercise device of claim 1 wherein the first and second stoppers are securable at various locations along the arm to which they are attached.
 6. The exercise device of claim 1 wherein the first stopper includes a first brake structure and the second stopper includes a second brake structure, wherein the first and second brake structures are disposed on the inelastic elongated member between the stoppers and the pulley.
 7. The exercise device of claim 1 wherein the inelastic elongated member is a rope.
 8. The exercise device of claim 1 wherein the inelastic elongated member is a combination of rope and inelastic flat strap material.
 9. The exercise device of claim 8 wherein the inelastic elongated member between stoppers is rope having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is attached to a first length of inelastic flat strap material and the second end is attached to a second end of flat strap material.
 10. The exercise device of claim 9 wherein a first fixed position stopper surrounds the junction of the first rope end and the first length of inelastic flat strap material, and a second fixed position stopper surrounds the junction of the second rope end and the second length of inelastic flat strap material.
 11. The exercise device of claim 10 further comprising; a third stopper that is located between the first and second stoppers and is securable at selected locations along the rope.
 12. The exercise device of claim 1 wherein the inelastic elongated member is an inelastic flat strap.
 13. The exercise device of claim 12 further comprising: a first cam buckle between a grip and the first arm and a second cam buckle between the second arm and a grip.
 14. The exercise device of claim 12 wherein the stoppers are cam buckles. 